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    Business Automation

    How to Build an Approval Workflow in Microsoft Teams

    22 October 2026
    7 min read

    Why Approvals Often Get Stuck

    Most approval processes in small businesses run through email. Someone sends a request. The approver is not at their desk. The email gets buried. Finance chases the approver three days later. The request is approved but no one records it properly.

    Email is a poor tool for structured approval workflows. It lacks status visibility, does not enforce a decision, and creates no proper audit trail.

    Microsoft Teams has an Approvals app that solves this. For businesses already using Teams, it is the lowest-friction place to handle approvals because it is where your team already communicates.

    The Teams Approvals App

    The Approvals app in Microsoft Teams allows anyone to send an approval request to one or more people. The recipient receives a Teams notification with the request details, and approves or rejects with a single click.

    The requester can see the status in real time. Both parties can add comments. The result is logged in Teams with a timestamp.

    For simple approvals — a single approver, straightforward accept or reject — this basic tool works well and requires no additional setup beyond enabling the app.

    Making It More Powerful With Power Automate

    The basic Approvals app handles simple requests. For more structured processes, connecting it to Power Automate significantly expands what is possible.

    Triggered approvalsInstead of someone manually creating an approval request, a trigger event starts the process automatically. A new purchase order created in SharePoint, a leave request submitted through a form, or an invoice uploaded to a folder can each trigger an approval flow that creates the request in Teams automatically.
    Conditional routingRoute approval requests to different approvers based on the amount, category, or requester. Purchases over a threshold go to a director. Leave requests over two weeks go to HR. Power Automate handles this logic.
    Multi-stage approvalsSome processes require sequential approvals — team leader first, then manager, then director. Power Automate chains these together so each stage triggers automatically on completion of the previous one.
    Post-approval actionsWhen an approval is completed, Power Automate can update a SharePoint list, send a notification email, create a Planner task, update Xero, or trigger any other connected action. The approval is not just a decision — it is a trigger for downstream steps.
    Reminders and escalationIf an approver does not respond within a set time, automatically send a reminder. If still no response, escalate to a backup approver or alert the manager.

    Practical Examples

    Purchase approvalsStaff submit a purchase request through a Microsoft Form or SharePoint list. Power Automate creates a Teams approval request routed to the budget holder. On approval, the request is logged and procurement is notified.
    Leave requestsStaff submit leave through a form. The approval request appears in Teams for their manager. On approval, the leave is added to the team calendar and payroll is notified.
    Document sign-offWhen a document reaches final draft stage in SharePoint, a Teams approval request is sent to the relevant stakeholders. On approval, the document status changes to approved and is moved to the approved documents library.

    Getting It Set Up

    Setting up a basic Teams approval flow in Power Automate is a half-day project for most standard processes. Multi-stage approvals with complex routing take longer to design and test.

    The most important step is mapping the current process before building the automation — who needs to approve what, in what order, under what conditions, and what happens next. Getting this clear upfront prevents rebuilding the flow after testing.

    Our Microsoft 365 automation services include approval workflow design and build. If your business approvals are currently running through email and causing delays, Teams approvals with Power Automate is a practical solution. Contact our IT consulting team to discuss your specific processes.

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